For a Friend
by Technetium2
Summary: Who knew catching a Pokemon took so much thought? A little re-imagining of what happens at the Altar of the Moone. Heavy spoilers for Sun & Moon. Some Sun/Lillie within.


Sun couldn't believe it. Here he and Lillie, his best friend, were, standing at the top of the Altar of the Moone, looking at the Cosmog that had been travelling with them since the beginning. Well, Cosmog was now the wrong word; Nebby, the tiny puff of nebulaeic fluff, was now a very large, beautifully shining bat that seemed to encompass most of the night sky. Lunala gave a soft cry, bending down to Lillie, allowing the blonde girl to pet it on its galaxy-displaying head. The scene was so serene, especially considering what had happened not thirty minutes ago, what with Lusamine, Lillie's mother, merging with an Ultra Beast and threatening to kill both the Aether President's daughter and himself. In fact, it was thanks to the cosmic being in front of them that they managed to escape the alternate dimension alive, along with Lillie's mother, Guzma, and a whole new definition of the word 'fear'.

"Sun…" The girl's call snapped the trainer out of his thoughts, prompting him to look at her with his ever-present smile. "I have a favour to ask you…"

"Of course; what'cha need?"

"Well," she gave Nebby another pat before the Emissary of the Moon went back to its full height, "it's not really for me; it's for Nebby."

"Nebby?" Sun looked the creature in its eyes. "What could Nebby want from me?"

"To… to go with you." Sun's eyes widened. "I know that Nebby wants to keep travelling, having new adventures and making new friends, but… I don't think I can give it that. I know that you can, though."

"But Lillie—"

"No, Sun." The girl walked up, putting a hand on his shoulder. When she did, he saw something he decided that he never wanted to see again: Lillie's eyes were filled to the brim with sadness. She was on the verge of tears, but still giving him the smile he was so used to seeing. "I want you to take Nebby." She gave a light sniff, trying to ignore what she was doing. "I… I want both of you to be happy, and I know this is how I can… I can…"

"You don't have to say it, Lillie." He put his own hand over hers in an attempt to comfort the girl. "I understand." She gave a shaky nod, relishing in the contact for a few seconds more before stepping back over to the Lunala, smiling at the friend who never seemed to want to stay in its bag. In that moment, the boy figured out exactly what to do. Taking a deep breath, he looked up to the Legendary, who was looking down at him expectantly, and with one glance at its rosy eyes, he knew that it knew. "Okay, Nebby… are you ready?" It inclined its head, a third eye briefly appearing in the myriad of stars resting in its cranium. "Then how about one last battle, huh? If we're really doing this, then let's do it right." Lunala's smile grew, and it flexed its wings outwards in a friendly challenge.

"Go… go easy on him, Nebby…" In a flash, the Moone Pokémon had scooped Lillie up with one of its wings, holding her close with the claw and resting its forehead against hers. She instantly embraced the creature's head back, a tear silently falling to the ground.

"That'zzz sweet." Sun's Rotom-dex popped out of his bag, grinning at the slowly parting embrace. "So, a battle againzzzt Nebby, huh? Are you sure you can do thizzz?"

"Of course I can; it's for Lillie."

"Then let'zzz go!" The strange Pokédex disappeared back into the backpack, letting Sun refocus his attention on the legendary in front of him.

"Lillie? You might want to stand back." She nodded and ran over to the edge of the stone platform, tightly gripping the straps of her pink bag. Sun grabbed a Pokéball from his belt, smiling at the red-and-white capsule. "Gotta finish where it started, right? Primarina, let's go!" He threw it forward, a blue seal-siren hybrid appearing in a burst of light and landing on the altar, staring down Nebby. "Let's do this! Moonblast!" A sphere of pink energy coalesced between Primarina's now outstretched flippers, firing off towards the legendary. Lunala gave a cry, and in a single wingbeat sailed over the attack. A similar sphere of purple started forming in Nebby's mouth, blasting right towards its opponent. "Counter with Sparkling Aria!"

"Prima!" Bubbles of water grew and spread from Primarina's pink nose, and with a sharp song note, burst, completely shattering the Shadow Ball. Nebby's smile grew again, and it flew higher in the air, the moon right behind it. Its previously blue wings changed to a white glow, seemingly absorbing some of the moon's energy, the third eye on its forehead coming to life again. The energy coursed through its wings, coming to several points where golden edging met actual wing.

"Protect!" A large green shield burst to life around Primarina just as the energy reached its zenith, forming a beam that fired out from Lunala's third eye. A force that nearly knocked both Sun and Lillie off their feet radiated out from the collision, the boy desperately trying to hold onto his hat. The beam's assault seemed to last forever, making Sun worry if his faithful starter could hold out. Thankfully, the beam ended, allowing him a quick glance at the nearly shattered green shield surrounding the water-type. The Soloist Pokémon looked back at her trainer, giving a nod. "Big one already, huh? Okay then!" Sun crossed his arms in front of him, the ring on his wrist giving off a blue glow at the same time as a similar crystal attached to a seashell necklace around the Primarina's neck. He then put his arms down to his sides, then moved them as if they were flowing water, two gyrations on his left and one on his right. Energy arced out from his Z-Ring, spilling over and surrounding Primarina, its crystal glowing bright enough to light up the entire altar. "Oceanic Operetta!" The soloist Pokémon lived up to its name, singing a beautiful melody that seemed to hold Nebby in its place. As the song went on, an enormous bubble of water started forming just over the Pokémon's head, eventually becoming bigger than even the legendary. Sun's starter then pushed its flippers forward, the enormous ball of water mimicking the action, moving towards Nebby. Once the water bubble was sufficiently near the Emissary of the Moon, Primarina flipped up onto its tail, standing taller than either of the teens standing nearby, the water-type's hair breaking out of its ponytail to more closely resemble seaweed. Sun swept his arms up, index fingers outstretched, as if he were a conductor. His starter's song reached its crescendo, her pitch going exceptionally high. The enormous water bubble burst, sending thousands of high-speed, power-packed droplets cascading around the area, most of them hitting their opponent. The water and fairy type bowed as Nebby buckled under the intense blast, using its wings to cover itself as best it could.

"Hang in there, Nebby!" Sun glanced back at Lillie, who had covered her mouth and was giving her friend an apologetic look.

"Marin!" He turned back to Primarina, who was gesturing towards the legendary, who was still standing… or floating, as it were.

"Wow; you're a lot tougher than you were before…" The Moone Pokémon grinned, then gave a shrill cry. Its body lit up with a thousand shimmering stars, a small glow encompassing the whole creature before fading away. "Cosmic Power, huh? Okay, Primarina; one last move."

"Prim!"

"Ice Beam!" A light blue sphere of cold energy coalesced in the Soloist Pokémon's open mouth, firing off as a light blue beam of that same energy, making a direct hit on the legendary that was still in the throes of completing Cosmic Power. Ice formed on one of its wings, heavily limiting its mobility, and making Sun grin. "I've got a special ball for this…" The boy reached into a side pocket on his bag and pulled out a black and blue ball with a yellow crescent on the top. "Come on, Moon Ball!" He threw it at Lunala, the ball opening and turning the beast of a Pokémon into light that was absorbed into the open capsule. The Moon Ball fell to the ground where it started shaking, a small rattling amongst the wind now the only sound around the Altar. Moments later, there was a small 'ding' and a flash of light from the ball. Sun smiled, returned Primarina, walked over, and picked it up. "Nice to have you, Nebby." It gave a shake as if nodding.

"You have so much skill, Sun." The boy turned to look at his friend, who had come up behind him. "I'm not surprised you were able to catch Nebby."

"Well, it helped that it wasn't at full power, so…" He nervously scratched the back of his head with the hand that wasn't holding a Moon Ball. "But it's not over yet. Rotom?"

"What'zzz up, buddy?" The Pokédex popped out of Sun's bag, floating around so it was between the two teens. It gave the equivalent of a bow to Lillie before focussing on Sun.

"Could you register Nebby's data? It's not every day you run into a legendary like that."

"Sure thing!" Rotom pointed its camera at the ball, taking a few pictures. "Lunala: the Moone Pokémon. Said to live in another world, this Pokémon devours light, drawing the moonless dark veil of night over the brightness of day. Nebby sure did grow!" Rotom flew back into Sun's backpack, giving Lillie a wink as he vanished from view.

"It really did…" Sun's brow furrowed, making Lillie tilt her head in concern.

"Is… is something wrong?"

"Hm… yeah, actually."

"What is it?" Without a word, the boy took the girl's hand, making her blush profusely. "Sun?! What are you doing?!"

"What's right." He placed Nebby's ball in Lillie's hand, making her frantically look between the two.

"B-But I can't—"

"Lillie. Listen." She stopped her minor panic to look Sun in his grey eyes. "You're probably right; I probably could train up Nebby really well and have it extremely tough for the League that the Professor's making, or even for that rumoured Battle Tree… but at the same time, I could never take your best friend away from you. Lillie, Nebby is your Pokémon; always has been, always will be. I might have more exciting battles, or just more battles in general, but you two share something that I could never give it."

"Sun…" Her hand started shaking, but she slowly gripped the Moon Ball, tears starting to form in her green eyes. "I… I…"

"Besides, if you ever go on a journey of your own some day, Nebby could be the Pokémon you start with. Though, starting with a legendary might be cheating," he laughed.

"I-It might be, yeah…" Lillie looked down to the Pokéball now firmly grasped in her hand, eyes swimming with an emotion Sun wasn't entirely familiar with. Then, she lunged forward, enveloping him in a hug. Initially startled, he soon gently returned the embrace, her ponytail tickling his nose. "Th-Thank you, Sun…"

"Ah, it's no problem; Nebby's yours." They ended the hug, both standing just a little closer than before. "And, no matter what you'll say later, I won't take Nebby back. I'll deny it was mine." She giggled, looking at the legendary's new home.

"Okay." She awkwardly threw the ball up, Lunala appearing in a burst of light. The girl fumbled the ball as it came back, nearly dropping it and giving a sheepish smile. "H-Hi, Nebby… it looks like we're staying together." With a loud cry that echoed around the altar, Lunala wrapped its wings around the two humans, pulling them in for a strange group hug. They both laughed, returning the gesture. Then, just as suddenly as it had happened, it was over, and Nebby had returned itself to the Pokéball, leaving Sun and Lillie standing near each other on the top of the altar. A moment of silence passed where the two just stared into each other's eyes, neither wanting to break contact.

"Um…" Lillie was first to speak, though eye contact remained unbroken. "I should make sure my mother is okay… and tell Gladion about everything."

"Okay. I might stay here a little longer; y'know, just to make sure another portal doesn't open."

"Okay." They finally looked away from each other as Lillie turned towards the stairs, putting determination on her face. However, a few steps later, she turned around and ran back to Sun, making the boy's eyes widen. "Sun?" He nodded. "You're wrong; Nebby isn't my best friend. You are." In a flash, she had put a light peck on his cheek, making both their faces turn red. "See you soon."

"Y-Yeah…" With a smile, she turned and jogged down the stairs, leaving Sun alone with his thoughts. Mostly. Primarina popped out of its ball, giving her trainer a sly look. "What?"

"Marina prim," it said in a teasing tone.

"Shush." His starter started laughing, though he could tell it was all in good spirit. With a sigh, he sat down on the stone, staring up at the night sky above. Primarina, once it had finished laughing, moved and curled its tail around him, taking in the view as well. "Tonight was something else, huh?"

"Primarina."

"I hope Lillie will be okay getting home. I know I just gave her Nebby, but…"

"Prima prim marina pri."

"Yeah, you're right. She's changed so much; I'm sure she'll be okay. Plus, she'll probably catch up to Hapu." Sun sighed, leaning back onto the bulk of Primarina's tail. "So what do you want to do? Stay here tonight or try the Canyon?" He was answered by the water-type curling its tail tighter around him. "Okay; here it is." Trainer and starter then curled up against each other, quickly falling into a deep sleep. On the very edge of the altar's canyon, a Pokémon that looked like a woman with long, blue hair trapped inside a blue tiki mask of a clam, looked over the two sleeping figures, nodding to itself. It lightly floated up and away, spotting the girl that had left the altar walking alongside another girl and her Mudsdale. Tapu Fini gave a contented smile, and turned in the direction of its home, setting off into the night.

 **A/N: So this was a little thing I thought up when going over the scene where you catch Nebby again. I just so desperately wanted the option to give Nebby to Lillie that I ended up writing this to satiate my desires. The ending's not great, but it's all I could come up with. Hope you all liked it!**


End file.
